Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Mel's (originally mooted to be Mo's) replaced Zesto in this location which closed in December of 2024. They got going in the summer of 2025, and so lasted about a year. I had not stopped since then, but was looking forward to a soft-serve chocolate dip to close out August. In the event, they have been closed several weeks, and a (mysterious) new concept is supposed to debut here in September.

You can read about it in The State, The Post & Courier or on WIS.

If this Zesto weren't there for my entire life, it was pretty close. Richland Mall came, went, came and went again while Zesto chocolate dipped one soft-serve cone after another. In fact I have to admit that unless my folks got me something else when I was very young, those chocolate dip cones are all I had at Zesto, with the dark shell cracking over the creamy goodnes the first time you bit it and lasting down to the part where you ate the cone and got ice cream all over your fingers.

The owner is retiring after a good long run, and it's certainly well deserved. I can't really see the building being repurposed as there is not enough parking for a full sit-down restaurant, and not enough space for a drive through, but time will tell. In the meantime, there's those decades of sticky memories.

Here's ColaDaily on the closing, and here's WIS on the final day.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

UPDATE 22 January 2025:

UPDATE 16 April 2025 -- As mentioned in the comments, the sign for Mo's Dairy Bar is up: